


The Proposal

by Vorcha_Girl



Series: Jane & James [4]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Love, Marriage Proposal, Romance, Smut, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 19:48:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14432826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vorcha_Girl/pseuds/Vorcha_Girl
Summary: Jane and James have finally settled into a life together after the Reaper War ... but something is up. James isn't acting like himself, and Jane is certain he's hiding something. The only question is what?





	The Proposal

**Author's Note:**

> _A/N - So, those of you who follow me on Tumblr know how much I love Jane and James, and that their story means a great deal to me. I've been wanting to write this proposal story for a while, so I really hope you all enjoy it! The art for this first chapter is by Szajnie on Tumblr._

* * *

 

 

“James, wait up!” Jane half-laughed as James bounded ahead of her, her boyfriend’s huge frame vanishing between two towering evergreens. “I’m in heels, you know!”

He reappeared with a mischievous grin as she tottered along. “Is it really the heels? Or have you been skipping your workouts again?”

She rolled her eyes as one of her accursed heels snagged between two fallen branches and she paused to free it. “I’ll give _you_ a workout!”

“Promises, promises.” James laughed, bouncing from one foot to the other while he waited.

Her foot finally came free and she continued, stumbling slightly over the uneven ground and cursing herself for not taking the time to change. James wolf-whistled playfully, and she gave him the finger as she pushed her tangle of unruly red curls out of her face.

Trust _him_ to find amusement in her flailing around in the forest!

“You know, you could have picked a better day for a walk,” she complained. “It’s going to rain soon.”

His eyes gleamed. “Nah, I’ve been planning this for a while. Trust me, this is the _perfect_ day for a walk.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Never you mind.” He grinned, radiating excitement as he resumed his hike.

Jane followed, smiling at his infectious excitement. They pushed onwards for another few minutes until her heel snagged on another invisible obstruction. She lurched sideways as her ankle twisted, her arms windmilling comically, and stifled a yell as she landed hard on a fallen tree. Pain shot through her side, sharp and immediate, and something inside of her twinged painfully. Jane cursed, clutching her side and scrambling to her feet before James could see.

She sucked in a breath and took a careful step, cursing the heels as another bolt of pain shot through her. The damned shoes were less than ideal for walking in the forest, but in his excitement to show her his _surprise_ , James had all but dragged her in here as soon as she was home from work, and she hadn’t thought to change.

And, if she were honest, in her eagerness to find out what was going on, she had followed him without a second thought. Because James had _not_ been acting like himself lately. In fact, a sick feeling of suspicion had been twisting in her stomach for weeks now, and she’d wanted answers more than she’d wanted a good pair of shoes.

Her suspicions were based on little things really; whispered conversations late at night which he ended when she walked into the room, searches on his omni-tool which he wouldn’t let her see and was careful to delete afterwards, long talks with Cortez which he refused to talk about, and which Cortez was strangely tight lipped about too.

Little things.

_And yet …_

Jane’s stomach turned nervously, and she swallowed a cry of pain as another sharp stabbing sensation shot through her side.

_Still_ , she reflected as she straggled along painfully, _I should have changed my damned shoes first._

She grimaced as branch whipped back and caught her on the arm. Ahead of her, James was striding along eagerly, and she grumbled under her breath Something was up with him. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to be energetic and exuberant, but today he seemed to be bursting with nervous energy. He kept looking back at her and pausing, almost as though he was torn between wanting to stay by her side and wanting to get to their location.

In a way, it was like taking an over-excited puppy for a walk.

“James, I'm kind of tired." She gripped her side as it twinged again, and she stopped to massage it. "Is it much further?"

After a long day at work she usually adored going for a walk by the lake or in the forest surrounding their house. But her feet were hurting and something in her side ached badly; all she really wanted to do was curl up by the fire and sleep.

_Especially since the weather wasn’t the best!_  Jane cast a dubious look up at the sky. The canopy of trees blocked out the threatening clouds, but she heard an ominous rumble in the distance.

“It’s not far! Come on!”

James seemed to glow with excitement as he zig-zagged ahead of her through the green glow of the forest, his face alight with boyish excitement. He'd caught her up in his arms as soon as she had arrived home, spun her around dramatically, and kissed her as though he hadn't seen her in days. The kiss had been so full of love, passion, and excitement, that Jane had been instantly transported back to their first _real kiss_ , back to the day when the Normandy had landed on Earth after the war and James had run down and swept her into his arms, his eyes swimming with tears.

She smiled softly; they'd come a long way since that first kiss.

He bounded ahead of her, full of energy despite having worked all day too. He didn't seem to notice how exhausted she was as he leapt off a fallen log and hurried along, and she forced herself on, not wanting to ruin his enthusiasm. The now familiar sharp pain shot through her side and despite her determination to keep going, she stopped, clasping her midsection and shutting her eyes.

_Go away_ , Jane prayed as this time the stabbing sensation persisted and didn’t fade. She hadn't felt pain like this in months, not since they'd replaced the final few pieces of Cerberus tech that shorted out when the Crucible fired. The thought of going through it again, the agony and uncertainty of not knowing when she might end up in hospital again, let her in a cold sweat.

"Janey?" James reappeared, and she opened her eyes to find him peering at her, his expression a mixture of dismay and concern. "Honey? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied, swallowing hard and schooling her features into a smile. "Just a stitch. And ... my feet hurt, that's all."

He didn't believe her, she knew the moment the words left her mouth, but he nodded and took her at face value; trusting she knew her body well enough to tell him if she was really ill. James gave her a reassuring smile that fizzed through her veins despite her exhaustion, and he wrapped her smaller hand in his, walking more slowly as he stayed by her side.

"How bad is it?" he asked after a time, his voice light.

Jane gave him a sidelong look and half-sighed. "I'll be okay. It's just the usual aches and pains."

Not quite the truth, but there was no use worrying him.

He opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted as some birds burst out of the undergrowth, squawking loudly. Jane jumped, wincing as the move sent another wave of pain through her. James sighed and stopped. "Janey-"

"Honestly, it's okay. It hasn't hurt in a long time, and this is just-" an especially sharp pain shot through her and she gasped, doubling over. "Okay," Jane admitted through gritted teeth, "maybe it's hurting a little worse than usual."

“Oh honey, you should have said something.” He caught her in his arms, swinging her up and carrying her princess style. "But never fear, Vega is here!"

She grinned. "My hero!"

He chuckled. "Can you keep going if I carry you, m'lady?"

"I think so." She smiled at his teasing and wiggled. The pain had lessened significantly now that she was off her feet; and being in his arms was always a thrill. Strange how even now, being with him still affected her just as strongly as it had their first time together. The almost electric buzz still filled her body, and the nervous flutters still danced in her belly.

"You'll tell me if it gets worse?" He looked serious, but gave her a gentle squeeze. "I didn't count on you hurting again," he muttered quietly, his eyes dark with worry.

"Bad timing?" Jane suggested as she hooked an arm around his neck. "I feel fine now that I'm in your arms."

"Flatterer," James said. "Keep talking like that and you might get lucky."

She laughed and snuggled close, resting her head in the crook of his neck and listening to the gentle sounds of his breathing as he carried her.

It grew steadily darker as they walked, and the cool breeze increased; the scent of rain strong. Jane jumped as thunder rumbled and the trees around them rustled in the wind, a few leaves drifting down. The thick canopy shielded them from most of the weather, but even so it soon became clear that a bad storm was brewing. Distant lightning flashes grew brighter, and before long rain was sprinkling down, gently at first and then harder.

James stopped, the expression on his face dismayed as he stared upwards, rain plastering his shirt to his body.

"Oh, _come_   _on_ ," he groaned. "Not today! Not now!"

"It's just some rain, Jimmy." Jane wriggled, and he set her down. "We'll just head home and go for a walk tomorrow."

James shook his head. "You don't understand! I finally have, I mean, I was going to-" he broke off, bitter disappointment on his face. "Jane ... ."

Lightning flashed in a white blaze and thunder crashed, deafeningly loud. They both jumped, and Jane stepped close to James, reaching her arms around his neck and staring up into eyes she knew better than her own. Eyes she'd stared into and dreamed of for more nights than she could count. Eyes which had seen beyond the Commander Shepard label to fall in love with the ordinary woman she really was.

The eyes of the man she loved.

She went up on tiptoe as the heavens opened, rain pelting down and soaking them to the bone. She grinned as James leaned down to meet her lips, the height difference making the kiss almost comical. She didn’t mind; his huge size was one of the sexiest things about him. He groaned as he pulled her close, his strong arms wrapping tightly around her, and his warmth soaking through her just as surely as the rain.

_“Jane.”_

He murmured her name as their mouths met. Hungrily. Desperately. The prayer of a dying man to his god. His nipped her lower lip, teasingly, then crushed her close and kissed her. Their tongues tangled together in a swirl of velvet heat, both groaning as James’ hands slid down her body. He held her tight, so tightly that Jane thought for a moment she might slip inside of him; to truly become one with James.

They drew apart breathlessly, and she dropped her head to his neck, his hands warm points of pressure on her hips, holding her close. A faint tremor ran through him, as though he longed to take her here in the forest; against a tree or on the mossy ground. It wouldn't be the first time, or the last, but today she hurt too much for any kind of tryst, and they both knew it.

Lightning flashed again, blindingly bright, and more thunder cleaved the air in an air-splitting crack, so close it hurt her ears. Jane squeaked and jumped, and James cursed as the rain began to pour down in a torrential sheet. Without waiting, he swept her up in his arms and began to jog back through the forest, cradling her to him as the icy rain pelted down.

"This is crazy!" he shouted, fighting his way through the rain and wind.

Jane laughed and huddled close. "I know! I hope we're not blown away!"

"Don't worry, Lola. I got you." He squeezed her reassuringly but cursed as he stumbled and almost lost his footing on the muddy ground.

It took James a few minutes to backtrack through the forest and reach the house. The storm was worse out of the cover of the trees, and he struggled to keep his balance through the howling wind and the near vertical rain. Jane lost a shoe on the way, and her long red hair kept blowing in his face, blinding him as he struggled up the stairs to her front door, panting with exertion.

He set her down and sagged against the front door once they made it, dragging a hand through his close-cropped hair and flicking out leaves and twigs. Jane grinned at him through the wet tangle of her hair, and she flicked it out of her face, squeezing what seemed like a bucket of water from it. She unbuttoned her sopping wet dress jacket and kicked off her remaining shoe, sending it spinning back out into the storm. James took off his shirt and squeezed the water out of it, then dropped it on the ground sodden _thwack_.

"Okay," he picked her up again, his chest warm. "Since my surprise got ruined in the forest, I'm going to run you a warm bath upstairs while I set up something special downstairs. No peeking until it's ready though, okay?"

Jane smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. “A bath? Oh, god, _yes_! That sounds perfect.”

James nodded and let out a surprisingly nervous sounding laugh. “Good. Let’s hope I keep hearing that all night.”

She blinked at him, her stomach turning summersaults as his sneaky behaviour suddenly took on a more positive spin. Jane bit her lip and burrowed against him as he unlocked the door and carried her up to the bathroom. A fine shiver wracked her body that had nothing to do with the rain and everything to do with excitement and nerves.

James … wasn’t going to ask her what she thought he was?

_Was he?_

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_A/N - I love these two! I'll get the next chapter out asap - it just needs some editing. ^_^ I hope you enjoyed this, and I'd love to know what you thought! All comments and reviews are very welcome._


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